We Don't Belong Here: Iron Man 3
by TheMostRandomOfRandomWriters
Summary: Sequel to We Don't Belong Here. After the events of the Avengers, Ivy has been dealing with what happened to her in New York. But she's not the only person with trauma, and another adventure might be what she needs.
1. Chapter 1

Hey, Miranda, is this thing recording?

Okay, good, thanks.

Hi, everybody. Ivy's back. And, as you can see, I'm still one piece after _Iron Man 3_. If you haven't heard my last recording, the one about _The Avengers_, I suppose you could go find it somewhere. [What, Miranda? Fine.] Here's a quick summary. Got pulled into the Avengers movie universe, met the team, saw the Chituari invasion, went home, the end. [What? I said it'd be quick.]

I hadn't stepped foot a theater since I'd seen _The Avengers_ until I saw _Iron Man 3_. It hadn't been my idea, but Ariel and Carmen had hatched the plan, thinking it would be a great surprise gift for my sixteen birthday.

Yeah, I celebrated my birthday by watching the guy who saved my life when Loki shoved me off Stark Tower getting beaten around and tormented by what happened in New York. Just like I was - and still am.

After a month, they decided to hold a movie night at Carmen's house and tricked me into coming. No Marvel, though _Batman Begins_ and _Napoleon Dynamite_ were involved. I have not, as of yet, been pulled into anything aside from Marvel movies – though the Doctor says it's possible. Yes, Whovians, _that_ Doctor.

"That was fun," said Carmen, walking home with us. "Wasn't it, Ivy?"

"Yes," I said.

"You're quiet," said Jack. No, before any of you shippers get any ideas, he's _not_ my boyfriend. He's a boy I take karate with and don't even know that well. "Normally, you're all over the place with excitement after these things."

"Yeah, well, I don't feel so good." I felt sick to my stomach, honestly, at the possibilities of all the places I could end up going. None of them were particularly pleasant.

My house was dark as we stopped off out front.

"So, see you tomorrow," said Carmen. She and the others started to walk off together. All except Ariel and Jack – the two lived in the same neighborhood and would walk home together.

"Oh, Ivy, I forgot to give you this, I got this for your birthday," said Ariel. She hadn't made it to the party and I hadn't seen her since.

She handed me a small box. I unwrapped the box to find a pair of earrings. Tiny crystal earrings. There are only two people on the planet who would buy me jewelry. Miranda and Ariel. Most people know me seem to think I'm a tomboy with a black belt in karate who doesn't care about being pretty. No, I don't wear skirts and dresses and pretty clothes and jewelry for the most part – skirts are annoying when trying to run or fight and every time I've ever gotten into a fight while wearing jewelry, it ended up being used against me. I've had hoop earrings ripped out of my ears before. Due to my tendency to find trouble, I dress to be ready for it. Still, that doesn't mean I don't like wearing jewelry and skirts, it just means it's a bad idea.

Anyhow, only Ariel and Miranda actually know that I like jewelry. And now, Jack.

"Thanks," I said, putting them in. "They're beautiful."

"I met Miranda at the store when I was buying them. She said she lost her TARDIS earrings a while ago – whatever a TARDIS is – and I had to ask her about what you were up to. What's up with that? You used to talk to me after our sparring matches, and I haven't had one with you in ages."

I put the earrings in. "Trust me. You don't want to know. How do they look?"

"Great," replied Ariel.

"Just like we don't want to know why you're spending every minute you can training in fighting, and why you haven't talked to anyone in the last couple months?" asked Jack, ignoring the question. "We miss you, everyone does. The way things used to be. Now we never know what's going on with you. What happened after you and Miranda went missing last summer?"

I couldn't look at either of them. "Thank you for the earrings," I said, and turned to walk to the house. I kept walking, and went straight into the dark house. My brother was playing piano in a concert that evening, and my parents were both attending.

A footstep sounded behind me. I turned to see who it was.

What felt like a needle bit into the back of my neck. Instinctively, I pulled away, twisting around and driving my fist into my attacker. It met with air. I staggered backward toward the door, the room already grower dimmer.

Someone burst through the door. My attacker went flying backwards. A metal arm grabbed me from behind as my knees gave out and then I was being pulled backwards.

"Got you," said a familiar voice, before everything went black.

**Hey, everybody! I'm back, at last.  
**

**Have a question for everyone who read _We Don't Belong Here_. Does anyone think Ivy's a Mary Sue? If so, I'd like to know.  
**


	2. Chapter 2

Ivy here.

I hadn't been sleeping so well since what happened in New York – and when I did fall asleep, it never lasted because of the nightmares. So I suppose it was about time I got some sleep.

Unfortunately, even then, the nightmares just wouldn't stay away.

I don't remember a lot of the dream – mostly running, stumbling over things, trying to get away, and then finding myself, back against a wall, staring at Loki.

"I'm not scared of you," I said.

He just laughed and pressed his spear against my chest. Blue flooded my vision.

I sat up straight with a shriek.

"Hey, Romanoff," said a voice. "It's okay."

I turned to see a very familiar superhero sitting in a chair next to the bed.

"Hey, Mr. Stark." I didn't bother reminding him that my name is actually Ivy – due to my resemblance to Agent Romanoff, he keeps calling me things like that, and I've learned it's useless to correct him.

"Call me Tony. Mr. Stark was my father."

I blinked at the bright light coming in through a window. Outside, all I could see was ocean.

"What exactly happened?" I asked. "And am I at your house?"

"Yes. As for what happened, it's a long story. What do you know about the Mandarin?"

"A lot of things – not ones I can tell you."

He looked annoyed, but said nothing for a moment. "I think it was the one of the Mandarin's workers who was after you last night. He got away."

"Last night? What about my parents? They must be worried."

"I told them the stalker was back."

When Miranda and I had our little adventure last summer, S.H.I.E.L.D. told everyone that the person who'd attacked us in the woods had been some crazy guy – actually it was Hawkeye under Loki's mind control – but that the guy had been such a problem I'd had to disappear for a while until they dealt with him.

"They believed you?"

"S.H.I.E.L.D. helped a little. I need to know what you know about the Mandarin."

"Tony, I think we both know I won't tell you – and why."

"Yes, and we saw what happened last time. People died because you wouldn't tell anyone. If you tell me everything you know now, we can avoid everything that's going to happen."

"I wish I could. Things could go sideways very quickly. I'm sorry."

He said nothing for a moment. "Come on downstairs," he said at last. "I can show you my suits."


	3. Chapter 3

Still Ivy here.

For those of you who haven't seen any of the _Iron Man _movies, let me just say this – Tony Stark has an amazing house. Really, that place is awesome. I really wish I could have warned him so it wouldn't have been destroyed. Actually, if I hadn't known he'd had enough money to rebuild the place, I might have actually warned him just so the place wouldn't have gotten blown up.

"And this is the workshop," said Tony.

The walls were lined with Iron Man suits. My jaw dropped as I stared around at them. This. Was. Awesome. I was standing in the middle of Tony Stark's workshop, surrounded by Iron Man suits. How many people get to say that in their lifetimes?

"Figured you would have seen them already," he said, clearly noting my expression.

"Seeing something in a movie and seeing something in reality are two _very_ different things. You're on Mark… 42, right?"

"Yeah, I was just putting on a few finishing touches when I left."

"How did you know what was going to happen?"

"I didn't. I, uh… had a suit in the neighborhood. To keep an eye on you."

Why was I not surprised?

"I knew someone was following you, but I only came yesterday because I was sure. I thought that the time while your parents were out would be best. What do they know?"

"Nothing." The only person who knew anything about what had happened to us last summer was Miranda. And the Avengers and probably a few S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.

"Well, come take a look at Mark 42."

The suit was assembled on the little platform in the middle of the workshop. This. Was. Awesome.

"Tony?" said a female voice. "Where are – oh!"

At the bottom of the stairs stood Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan.

"Who's this?" she asked, frowning slightly.

"Oh, this is Ivy Williams," said Tony. "Ivy, this is Pepper, my girlfriend, and Happy, my former bodyguard, now head of security at Stark Industries."

"People kept laughing when I told them I was Iron Man's body guard! I had to quit to save face!" protested Happy.

"Well, she's going to be staying with us for a little while, while I deal with the Mandarin problem."

"Does she know something about it?" asked Pepper.

"Kind of. It's a long story," I replied.

"Does S.H.I.E.L.D. know about this?"

"Kind of?" offered Tony.

"You know, I think I'll just stay out of this. I have a meeting at work. Come on, Happy."


	4. Chapter 4

Still Ivy. In case you're wondering if there'll be any other narrators in this – be patient. It's a good skill to learn. One I have yet to master, but that's not the point.

Tony showed me around and, eventually, we ended up in the room with the boxing ring. The one where Tony and Natasha met in _Iron Man 2_.

"You do martial arts, right? What was it, karate?" asked Tony.

"Yes, though I've been branching out lately," I replied. "Agent Romanoff said I should." She showed up at random during my training sessions and would give me advice.

"You any good?"

My black belt in karate had, so far, proved to be nearly useless whenever I actually needed it. My opponent was always better than me, or had some kind of physical enhancement. "My instructors say so."

"What, aren't you?"

"I like to think so."

"Want to spar?"

Tony was good. But, to my surprise, I won the majority of the matches. I put it down to the fact that I had been training a lot lately.

Tony took several deep breaths. "Are you _sure_ you're not related to Agent Romanoff?"

"Yes. S.H.I.E.L.D. ran testing before I left, just to make sure. Actually, I'm surprised they let me leave at all, with what I know."

"Yeah, well, myself and the rest of the team had words with them before Thor and Banner left. Men who turn into giant green rage monsters and who live on other planets are _very_ convincing. You know, with your whole I-can-switch-between-universes thing, you seem to have taken it fairly well," said Tony, as we halted for a moment. "Most people would be a little more freaked out than you seem to have been."

"I didn't exactly have to time to really realize what was happening to me until everything was over, and then I was kind of used to it. I'm not saying I don't have to adjust, though. I don't see much of Miranda – when she's trying to deal with something, she goes off and reads or studies. Her grades have steadily gone up since what happened." Miranda's solution to dealing with any problem – read and study and try to forget about it. Focus on something else. Like schoolwork. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

He threw a punch.

Before I knew what I was doing, he was on the ground, on his back, and my hands were at his throat.

There was a pause.

"Okay, that I was not expecting," said Tony.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Agent Romanoff taught me that, and I've been practicing." I moved my hands away from his neck. "Sorry."

High heels tapped on the floor.

"Tony! Where are you?"

"In here."

I quickly scrambled to my feet.

Pepper entered, face white.

"The Mandarin just bombed the Chinese Theater. And Happy was there."


	5. Chapter 5

Yup, still Ivy narrating.

Tony left me at his house with Pepper while he went to see Happy in the hospital. As sorry as I felt for Happy, I hate hospitals – the far too many times in my life I've been to them are either because of my own injuries or because of a dying relative.

"So…" said Pepper from her position on the couch across from me. "What Tony said…"

"About knowing things about the Mandarin? Yes, it's true. No, I can't tell you anything." Technically, I hadn't been forbidden to say anything about my special ability. I just didn't because seriously, who'd believe any of it? I mean, Pepper had probably seen a lot. But this was stretching it.

I could end this with a phone call. Tell him not to threaten the Mandarin. Suggest he activate the House Party Protocol. That should take care of the helicopters. I could tell him about Aldrich Killian, the Mandarin, the Vice president.

But then, how would he figure out his problems?

I really ought to write to the directors of these movies and see if we can work something out to minimize casualties. I actually did start composing a letter to Joss Wedon once, but ended up throwing it away because if he saw it he'd probably laugh or suggest to my family that I receive some kind of psychological testing. Which I already am – my parents realized something was wrong ages ago and had me put therapy. Not that it's doing much good, seeing as I can't tell the therapist any of the truth about what happened. Agent Romanoff said something once or twice about my seeing a therapist who I _can_ explain things to, but hasn't brought it up in a while.

"Miss Potts?" said JARVIS suddenly. "There is something on television you may wish to see."

Tony appeared onscreen, standing in front of his car, looking directly into the camera with a very ticked expression on his face..

"Here's a little holiday greeting I'd like to send to the Mandarin – I just didn't know how to phrase it until now. My name is Tony Stark and I'm not afraid of you. I know you're a coward, so I've decided that you just died pal, I'm going to come get the body. There's no politics here, it's just good old fashioned revenge. No Pentagon, just you and me. And on the off chance you're a man, here's my home address. 10880 Malibu Point, 90265. I'll leave the door unlocked."

Well, there went my chance to change everything.

Can't say I was too sad about not having the temptation anymore.

"What is he _doing_?" muttered Pepper, speaking to herself.

Even thought I'd known what was going to happen, I groaned aloud.

Tony Stark… how can someone so bright do things that are so… not bright?

**Sorry about not updating in the last few days. I may have lost all my files and not have backed them up anywhere... luckily, my dad was able to retrieve them for me and I now have them backed up. I nearly lost not only this story, but also what I had written on the sequel to _Bella_, of which the rough draft is nearly completed. Luckily, I have them back now, and will be able to update again.**


	6. Chapter 6

Ivy here. Still.

Tony arrived about twenty minutes later. Pepper was off packing for him.

"Hi," I said as he came in. "You know, giving your address to an international terrorist probably wasn't your greatest idea."

"Yeah, someone could have warned me about that." He stared at me pointedly. "Well, I'm going to start getting the defenses up and do some detective work."

His annoyance with me annoyed me in turn. What did he expect me to do? What do you expect _anyone_ to do in my position? "So… what now?"

"I've already made arrangements with S.H.I.E.L.D. Someone will be here soon."

I didn't really want to go back to S.H.I.E.L.D. The first time I'd been there, I'd been scared I'd never leave. Going back wasn't exactly a pleasant idea.

But, on the other hand, I might not have to deal with the _rest_ of all this.

Most of you have probably guessed I won't be so lucky.

I joined Tony for his detective work and watched as he observed the projections he spread out on the floor.

"You know, you'd make this a lot easier if you'd just tell me what I'm going to find," he said.

For those of you who haven't seen _Iron Man 3_, Happy was blown backwards by an explosion which destroyed the Chinese Theater. Near the explosion are dogtags belonging to one J. Taggart. Tony also searched for heat waves that matched the ones involved in Mandarin attacks and found one in Roseville, Tennessee. A soldier named Chad Davis, they say he tried to kill himself with a bomb and took five people with him. They say.

"You know I can't tell you anything," I said.

"It'll save time."

"Sorry."

I left debating whether or not I should have told him anything. It didn't seem like it could be too harmful. On the other hand, maybe it could.

But I felt terrible not telling him anything at all, not offering any help at all.

I debated slipping out of the house – why get caught inside a house that you know is going to get destroyed soon? – but decided JARVIS would probably alert Tony, and I didn't want to alert him.

I couldn't tell him what was going to happen. I couldn't tell him that his house was going to be destroyed and people were going to get hurt.

Does that mean I was responsible, in a way?


	7. Chapter 7

Still Ivy.

I was in the living room when the doorbell rang.

"How come we're still at ding dong? Come on, I threatened a terrorist!" Tony came out of his workshop. "Can I get the door without getting killed?" he asked.

I considered for a moment. What could be the harm in it? I'd told Agent Romanoff how to get Loki out of someone's head, and it hadn't mattered in the end. "Yes, it's fine." It took a moment to make myself say the next words, and I couldn't look at him while I said them. "You might want to bring your suit up for later, though. The new one. I can't tell you why."

He frowned, then pointed toward the workshop. The pieces of the suit came flying out, assembling next to me.

He walked to the door and opened it.

In stepped Maya Hansen.

"Tony. Who's this?"

"I'm Ivy," I said, stepping forward and extending a hand.

The woman looked questioningly at Tony.

"She's a friend," said Tony. "Long story. Who are you?"

"You don't remember me?"

"Don't take it personally, I don't remember what I had for breakfast this morning."

"Gluten free waffles, Sir," offered JARVIS.

"I'm Maya Hansen," said the woman. "I need to talk to you. Alone and preferably not here."

"Uh…"

Something suddenly whacked into my head from above. A bag landed on the floor next to me.

"Oh, sorry!" yelled Pepper. "You're leaving, Tony."

"What?"

"This is what normal people do!"

As Tony and Pepper argued, Miss Hansen looked around the room, eyes settling on the giant pink bunny in the corner.

"Is that normal?" she asked, turning towards me.

"Um… I'm just visiting, but, yeah. I think it is."

"Yes," said Pepper. "Sadly, in his house, yes."

The two went right back to arguing.

I had to get out of here. My heart started to knock against my ribs.

"Um… while you deal with this I'll just be out front."

I took off at a run for the front door.

Then the explosion happened.


	8. Chapter 8

And… still Ivy narrating. Yes, I know, shocking.

The explosion sent me flying into a wall.

A second later, I was back on my feet.

Tony had already thrown his suit onto Pepper.

"Get out of here!" he ordered.

I got up and started to stagger toward Pepper and Miss Hansen.

"Go!" yelled Tony.

The floor started to split open, separating me and Tony from Pepper. I considered jumping for a split second, but decided I'd rather not fall to my doom.

Then again, I just might anyhow.

"We'll find another way around! Go!" ordered Tony.

I don't think I've ever been so scared for my life as I was in that moment.

Tony grabbed my arm. "What should I do?"

"Just pray it doesn't go wrong and collapse before they're outside." That's what I was doing.

They vanished from view.

"I survive this, right?"

I said nothing.

Tony summoned his armor. It assembled onto him.

"JARVIS, where's flight power?"

"Working on it, Sir, this is a prototype."

The ground tilted and we started to slide toward the edge – and the ocean below.

Tony fired his repulsors at the piano. It hit a helicopter.

Piano, one. Helicopter, zero.

He pulled something out of his suit and threw it at the next one. It exploded.

One more to go.

The last helicopter fired.

The floor fell from underneath me. I landed hard on my arm. There was a _very_ unpleasant snapping sound and pain streaked through my arm.

And then everything tilted.

"Come on!" said Tony. "Flight power, JARVIS."

The floor fell out from under me. Again. And then I was falling. My hand latched onto something, but that was falling too. A scream ripped from my throat.

I remember thinking, _Please, God, don't let me die like this._

And then I hit the water and everything went black.


	9. Chapter 9

And… you'll never guess who's narrating this time. Yeah, it's me, Ivy.

I was very surprised when I woke up and I wasn't dead. Can't say I wasn't pleased, though.

I woke up sliding along, sitting on something hard and metal. My arm screamed with pain, probably broken. Cold air bit at my skin.

I opened my eyes to find I was in a forest, full of snow. I was sitting on Tony's Iron Man suit, which he was dragging behind him on some sort of makeshift sled. He stopped and walked around to me.

"Hey, Romanoff. How's the arm?"

"That's not my name," I muttered, sitting up. "And it hurts. A lot."

"Broken arms tend to do that. You know where we are, right?"

"Yeah, Tennessee."

"I'll get you to a doctor who can put it in a cast."

"No, don't. You're going to want to keep a low profile for a while. Everyone thinks you're dead."

He stared at me for a moment. "You're kidding."

"About what? I don't kid, especially not about broken bones." I stood up, the snow dampening my shoes. "I'll think of something on the way into town, but I don't think you showing your face would be a good idea right now." I wasn't going to let a broken bone change anything. Maybe the Doctor would show up and help. He had once before, why not now?

We walked in silence for a while, and eventually came to a gas station.

Tony pulled a poncho off the shoulders of a wooden Indian and handed it to me.

"Take it, I'm fine," I said.

Tony pulled his suit into a sheltered area next to the station. "I'm going to make a phone call. Don't go anywhere."

"Didn't intend on it."

I waited next to the phone box.

A car pulled up to the station.

And out stepped a familiar figure.

I stepped into the shadows a second too late.

"_Ivy_?" said Jack.


	10. Chapter 10

Hi. This is Jack. You remember me, right?

"_Ivy_?" I repeated. "What are you doing here?"

We'd been heading to visit some relatives for Christmas, and stopped just outside of the town to get some gas. That was when I'd spotted Ivy, dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, standing shivering next to a phone box.

"What are _you_ doing here?" she shot back. Her face was paper white and she held her arm closely against herself.

"I asked you first."

"Who's this?" asked Mom, getting out from the other side.

"This is Ivy. From my karate classes. Ivy, what in the _world_ are you doing?"

"I'm standing here. It's a free country, right?"

"Haha. What are you doing in Tennessee?"

She was dirty, bruised and bloody – looking like she'd just gone through a war, or, at the very least, had escaped a collapsing house.

"You don't look so good," I said.

"Do your parents know you're here?" asked Mom.

"Um… sort of. No, I didn't run away from home or anything like that. I'm… visiting someone. It's complicated."

"She's with me," said a man, stepping out of a nearby snow covered phone box. He looked a remarkable amount like Robert Downey Jr.

Strike that. His chest was glowing. He looked exactly like Tony Stark. "I'm Tony Stark. You might have heard of me."

Ivy grabbed my arm, allowing her other arm to dangle at her side. It _definitely_ looked broken. "I need to talk to you."

"Ivy? What's wrong with your arm?" Mom reached across and grabbed the limp arm.

Ivy turned whiter and released a hiss of pain.

"What happened?" asked Mom, releasing the arm. She's a doctor. "That's definitely broken."

"I fell."

"We were heading into the town to find a doctor," added… Tony Stark?

"Um… I need to talk to you," said Ivy, grabbing my arm and dragging me away as Mom and Mr. Stark talked.

"Um…" Ivy stared down at her gloves. "I need to ask that you don't call anyone and tell them where I am, okay? Long story."

"He's kidding about being Tony Stark, right. It's just a coincidence they look alike, right? Because Tony Stark was fictional last I checked. And hey, isn't the place they set part of the movie in?" Weird, I'd never thought of that before.

Ivy's face went white. "Oh, no. No no no no no." She took several deep breaths.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, yes, I'm fine." She took another deep breath. "Do you remember when I vanished last year?"

"Yes. Well, I remember hearing about it."

"Right. Um… that was when the Battle of New York happened. Like from _The Avengers_."

"What?"


	11. Chapter 11

It's still Jack here. Wow, it feels weird talking into this microphone.

Ivy detailed the events that happened the summer before. If you want to hear them, you can check out the other recording.

The thing was, it all made pretty good sense. We – her friends at karate and some of the girls I'd met who attended choir with her – had known something had happened that messed her up big-time, we just didn't know what. And it made sense – she used to love Marvel, and after what happened she'd seemed _very_ reluctant to discuss anything Marvel related ever since.

And also, I don't think Ivy's ever told a lie in her life. It's the one thing everything we both know likes about her – you can trust what she says to be true. Except for that we were all told that the reason she went missing last summer was that someone attacked her and Miranda in the woods. I heard, of course – Miranda and I have been friends since kindergarten. But Ivy never actually lied to us – she just let us believe what we were told.

"I know you probably don't believe me," said Ivy after she finished.

"Yeah, I do."

She raised her eyebrows. "That was easy."

"One, it makes sense – in a completely crazy way – two, my mother is talking with _Tony Stark_, three, I've never known you to lie and I'm pretty sure you'd come up with something less crazy if you were planning on it, and four, there's an Iron Man suit sitting right there."

Ivy turned slightly to look at it. "Didn't hide that as well as we should have. Well, we're in the middle of _Iron Man 3_, in case you haven't guessed yet. And I broke my arm falling when Tony's house got wrecked."

"I'm surprised that you only broke your arm."

"So am I." Her gaze fixed on the snow beneath her. "I brought you here. I'm sorry. I'm surprised you're so calm about this."

"Oh, trust me, I'm freaking out, I'm just not letting it show." And I was. This was scary. So… the Avengers… they were real too? I'd always liked comics, but this wasn't exactly a welcome idea, seeing as that meant super villains were real too.

Footsteps crunched in the snow.

"Dr. Lewis has offered to take you to a doctor's to have your arm set in a cast," said Mr. Stark.

I opened my mouth to ask how he'd convinced Mom to do that, then decided I didn't care.

Mom beckoned to me, then walked off with Ivy.


	12. Chapter 12

Okay. Hi, it's Jack again.

Mom had Ivy's arm set by another doctor without incident, and then we went to stop at my cousin's house, who were coming to visit.

It was only as we came up the steps that I realized my cousin's neighbor's last name was "Keener". As in Harley, the little kid in _Iron Man 3_. How had I not noticed that? We always had them over for Christmas dinner.

And how had it suddenly changed from June, about a month after Iron Man 3 was released, to December? I hadn't noticed that until now. Weird. How did that work?

Ivy limped down the sidewalk behind me. She looked miserable. I didn't blame her. Broken bones aren't much fun – I've broken my share in various accidents.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw them vanish into the Keener's garage.

"Are you okay?" asked Mom. "You've been acting funny ever since your friend showed up."

"Yeah, I'm just… surprised."

Yeah, I know a lot of you are probably thinking I believed all this way too easily. Truth was, I didn't know what to believe.

Ivy's no liar. But this was crazy.

If it had come from anyone else, I would have laughed at them or worried for their sanity. If I hadn't seen Tony Stark himself – and his Iron Man suit – I would have suggested to someone that she should undergo some… psychological testing.

Oh, Ivy's coming back.

[Hi, Ivy. Want a turn?]

Thank you, Jack. Hello, I'm back.

No, I did not make that rhyme on purpose.

So we ended up in Harley Keener's garage. Tony arranged his suit on the couch and sat down next to it.

"How did you convince Dr. Lewis not to tell anyone?" I asked.

"I offered her some money. I think she was concerned that you wouldn't see a doctor about your broken arm if she didn't take it and keep quiet. So, you never mentioned you had a boyfriend."

"No, I didn't, because he's not my boyfriend. I don't even know him that well."

I sat down in a chair, for the first time realizing how sore and tired I was. Within a minute, I was fast asleep.


	13. Chapter 13

Ivy again.

I've always been a light sleeper. And ever since New York, I barely slept at all.

But, oh, did I sleep that night. You never realize how much you depend on sleep until you can't get any.

For once, no dreams. No Loki. No one chasing after me, trying to kill me. Just blissful sleep. You really start missing that when you can't get it.

I woke up to a clattering on the floor.

Tony stood up, holding a piece of metal, presumably one he had just dropped. "Oh, sorry," he said, noticing me awake.

"It's fine, I should probably be up anyhow."

The door banged open.

"Freeze!" ordered a voice.

I instinctively rolled off the couch and behind the table before it registered that the voice belonged to Harley Keener, who I don't think is any older than twelve and probably would pose about as much of a threat to me as I would to Thor or Captain America. Still, I crawled away.

Tony raised his hands. "Nice potato gun. Though the gage is a little thick, which will affect its FPS."

Glass shattered.

"And now you're out of ammo."

"What's that in your chest?" asked Harley.

"It's an electromagnet. You should know, you've got a bunch of them right there."

"What does it power?"

"That."

"Is that Iron Man?"

"Technically, I am."

"Technically, you're dead." He handed Tony a newspaper, pushing past him to look at the suit.

"Good point."

I stood up.

"Who's that?" asked Harley, directing his attention away from the suit.

"I'm Ivy."

"Why are you with Mr. Stark? And what happened to your arm?"

I sighed. Even with all the sleep I'd gotten, I was still sore all over. "Both are a _very_ long story."

"Here's what I need," said Mr. Stark, and started listing off materials he'd need to fix his suit. "Oh, and a tuna sandwich," he added.

"What's in it for me?"

"The kid who picks on you at school, what's his name?"

"How'd you know I get picked on at school?"

Tony handed him a repulsor. "Here. Won't hurt him, just enough to get away. Here, Ivy, you take one too."

I slipped the repulsor inside the pocket of my jeans and made a mental note to get a jacket as soon as I could. It was freezing in Tennessee in winter.

"So where are your parents?" asked Tony.

"Well, Mom's at the diner and Dad went to get scratchers. Guess he won, 'cause that was six years ago."

"I'm sorry," I said.

"You know what keeps going through my head? Where is my tuna sandwich?" asked Tony.


	14. Chapter 14

Ivy here again.

So, while Tony and Harley went to look at the memorial, I got stuck behind keeping guard over the suit.

I was kind of glad, knowing what would happen.

Long story short – Tony figures out that the bombs being set off are people, one of them being Chad Davis, and goes to talk with Davis's mother. From there, Ellen Brandt – an Extremis soldier – tries to arrest him, fails, there's a fight, stuff gets blown up and destroyed in other ways, another Extremis soldier grabs Harley, Harley uses the flare Tony gave him, they think the guy's dead, they're wrong – the end. There's also a limited edition Dora watch involved somewhere – hey, I only watched the movie once, okay? I have a bad memory when it comes to movie or book plots. My summaries aren't going to be as good as they are for something I've seen three or four times – yes, if a movie's good enough, I'll watch it that many times in theaters. I had just seen _The Avengers_ for the third time when this stuff started happening to me. Hadn't been to a theater since.

I sank down onto the couch. I should warn them, I should do _something _– only question is, what?

There was a knock on the door.

I dropped down behind the couch. My hand moved toward the repulsor, but then away again. Not yet. Could be just Harley's mom or sister or something.

The door swung open.

"I know you're in here."

Okay, maybe not the most creative line, but still spine chilling when you realize it was Eric Savin. The Extremis soldier. Who is working for Aldrich Killian. Who is, apparently, after me.

I slipped around the back of the couch and behind a worktable. Savin walked toward the suit. If only I could sneak past him...

You know how, in movies, the hero or heroine _always_ does something to alert the villain? They trip, they knock things over, sneeze, stuff like that? You know why that is? Murphy's law. And mean writers.

Yeah, I tripped over one of the wires Tony was using to recharge his suit.

Savin spun around and lunged.

I rolled away, scrambling to my feet.

Now, even if Extremis soldiers are strong, I'm pretty sure they still feel pain. Savin sure seemed to, especially after I kicked him, punched him in the face, and ran for the door.

I didn't yell for help – what would anyone be able to do? No use pulling more people into this.

I dodged a punch. He was _fast_. "You know, I think the party is about to start or started already downtown. You know, with Tony getting that file and all."

He grabbed for my arm which wasn't in a cast, but I twisted it out of the way.

"I think Ellen has that handled," he replied.

"You think so? I don't."

He moved suddenly. A heavy object connected with the side of my head.

Pain exploded where the strike had come from. The room spun and dimmed for a moment. My knees gave out and I grabbed at the nearby able to keep my balance. Something damp and sticky dripped down my face.

Savin grabbed me and lifted me over his shoulder. "We've heard a bit about you, Ivy. The Master will be thrilled to have your services."

If he or anyone else thought I was _ever _going to work for Aldrich Killian, he or they were completely and utterly insane.


	15. Chapter 15

And it's Jack again.

The first sign I saw of something wrong was Tony Stark running down the street with his hands cuffed behind his back.

My mom and I had gone downtown to visit Harley's mom at the diner where she worked. We'd known the family for years – which was actually pretty creepy, now I discovered that they were fictional.

And, just as we were walking back, there were yells and sounds of breaking glass.

And then Mr. Stark ran past, hands cuffed behind his back, with Ellen Brandt hot on his heels.

I froze.

And then made the incredibly stupid mistake of throwing a snowball at her.

Ivy and I both lack impulse control. But what we lack in that, we both make up in speed. Usually, anyhow. I was just trying to help, okay?

Anyhow.

Ellen Brandt spun around and glared at me. If looks could kill…

I ran after Mr. Stark and past him into the building.

"What are you _doing_?" he demanded.

"Making plans on how I could improve control over my impulses," I replied, diving under a table as the Lady with the Creepy Eyebrow – as I heard Ivy refer to her as after watching the movie – ran toward us. I always thought it was a little odd that Extremis set everything perfectly and that things didn't heal wrong.

"Why?" asked Mr. Stark.

There was a loud of loud thuds and yells, then a hand grabbed my wrist, dragging me out and shoving me into the back of the room, some kind of kitchen. Mr. Stark splashed gasoline across the floor and igniting it. He had somehow gotten his handcuffs melted off and used the hot tip of the metal to start the fire.

Flames shot up.

"That all you got? A cheap trick and a cheesy one liner?" yelled Brandt as she walked through the fire toward us.

Seriously, until you've seen someone walk through fire – not on a TV screen, but in real life – you don't know how creepy it is.

"Sweetheart, that could be the name of my autobiography!" said Mr. Stark.

He moved fast, unhooking some kind of source of gas and putting a pair of dogtags into a microwave, then shoving me toward the door.

I'm just going to say now – Tony Stark is my favorite Avenger. Because of his brains. And because he designs cool stuff. If only I was that smart… watching him use his head to figure things out during _Iron Man 3_, instead of

I was out the door a full ten seconds before Mr. Stark shoved me forward, tackling me into the snow.

There was an explosion behind us.

For a moment, there was silence.

Then something above us groaned.

"Run," I said.


	16. Chapter 16

Jack again.

Here's a summary of my evening. First, I met Tony Stark – who is _supposed_ to be fictional. Then I got attacked by Ellen Brandt, also supposed to be fictional – though, granted, I did throw a snowball at her, so I sort of asked to get attacked. And then I had some kind of structure designed to contain water collapse on me.

The first thing I clearly remember was being pinned down by wreckage.

"You okay?" asked Mr. Stark, who seemed to have been lucky enough not to get hit.

"Once we get all this off me, I'll be fine."

"Try not to move," said Mr. Stark. "I don't want all this sliding around while I try to get you out."

And then Eric Savin walked in, with Ivy over his shoulder.

He sat down and put Ivy down next to him. Blood dripped from a painful looking injury on her head. She wasn't going anywhere soon. I didn't doubt that if she hadn't been hurt that badly she would have been pummeling him. As it was, he had been limping ever so slightly when he walked in.

Ivy groaned. "I'm sorry, Tony."

"It's okay," said Mr. Stark. "Remember what I told you and Harley about bullies?"

"Extremely well, I've been thinking about it the whole way here."

There was a small explosion and Savin flew backwards.

Mr. Stark fired at him, sending him even further backwards.

Then he ran over to Ivy. "What'd he do?"

She mumbled something as he pulled her into a sitting position and started to inspect her head injury.

"That looks like it hurt," he said.

"Probably because it does," she replied, a little more clearly.

He turned around and mouthed "I'll help you in a minute" to me before returning his attention to Ivy. "Can you walk?" he asked Ivy.

She shook her head.

"We need to talk to your mom again, Jack," said Mr. Stark. "I'll be right back."

He walked over to me. He managed to free me from under the wreckage. After making sure I wasn't hurt, he returned to Ivy, sliding an arm under her back, then under her knees, and picked her up. "Stay awake. Let's go."


	17. Chapter 17

Ivy here.

I've had some nasty injuries. A few years ago, a guy from my school stabbed me with a knife. Long story which I won't get into here for the sake of time. I've had my ribs broken, my arm broken, and more.

This wasn't such an unfamiliar level of pain. But that doesn't mean it didn't still hurt. It did. A _lot_.

"She needs to go to a hospital," said Dr. Lewis.

We stood inside Harley's garage. I had been placed on a couch.

"The Mandarin knows where we are," I said, addressing Tony. "We have to keep moving."

"I'll go on alone."

"Tony… he knows. About... my condition." I felt terrible about having to do this to him, with so much going on.

"What condition?" asked Dr. Lewis.

"Dr. Lewis, can we talk outside?"

The two walked outside.

Tony wouldn't tell her… I hoped.

I lay on the couch and wondered what the chances of the Doctor showing up again were.

After I got beat up in _The Avengers_, the Doctor showed up. Yes, as I've already said, the one from _Dr. Who_, Whovians. He explained a bit about my powers and patched me up with the sonic screwdriver. I hadn't seen him since, hadn't even known he was until I mentioned him to Miranda.

Her reaction was to drop the stack of books she'd been holding and yell "_What_?!"

I still hadn't seen too many recent episodes of the show – too busy – but he seemed to coexist with this universe. Or maybe he can travel between them, I don't know. I've only seen a few of the new episodes, the ones with Clara, and only because Miranda made me – she said it was important to know the things I'd find out.

Miranda was right. What she never realized, though, was that watching all that, knowing he was real and that I owed him one… not much fun.

There was a weird sound behind my head. I turned my head, and a blue police phone box stood next to the couch.

"Hello!" said a cheerful, familiar voice.

I looked up to see a man with red brown hair and bowtie standing the open door.

"Come on, we have some work to do, don't we?"

"I thought you didn't interfere with time."

"Time's not the boss of me."

He picked me up off the couch and brought me inside the TARDIS.


	18. Chapter 18

Hi. It's still Ivy.

The Doctor set me down on the floor next to the controls.

"Back in a moment," he said.

There was a moment of silence in which I stared at the ceiling of the TARDIS. How many people get to say that in their lifetimes?

Then he returned and pulled some kind of metal apparatus over my head, a bit like a helmet. Then another one over my broken arm. I hissed in pain.

"Why can't you just use your screwdriver thing again?"

"For a blow to the head like that? No, no. The sonic's good, but not for that. This might feel a bit funny, for just a moment."

There was a sudden tingly feeling inside my skull and my arm, and the pain just melted away. I sighed in relief and started to sit up against the railing surrounding the controls.

"Sit still, let it work. That was just painkiller."

I still need to bring Miranda to one of these meetings with the Doctor. Even right now, she's giving me a "yes, yes you should" look.

It's not as if he shows up on any sort of schedule, Miranda. I would if I could.

He knelt down in front of me. "So, you've gotten… thinner."

"I worked out a lot since we met. Gotten better at fighting." My voice came out slower, harder to understand. "Last time, Miranda got hurt. Because I was too scared to help her. I was scared. I was a coward."

"No one could blame you for that, Ivy. What could you have done? But that's not all, is it?"

"I… when I train… I don't think about what everything's going to be like, what could happen to me – to anyone I come in contact with. And I don't think about Loki did. About what I almost…"

"You didn't do anything. It was Loki. You've forgiven Agent Barton for what he did - you never held anything against him, but yourself? Neither of you had a choice in the matter."

"Should have done more to resist."

"Don't be ridiculous. It was all Loki, not you. _Would _you have done any of those things if you had a choice?"

"Of course not."

"There you are then. You had nothing to do with it."

"He's still in there. I can feel him, sometimes I think I hear him, or I start thinking about what he wants."

He hesitated. "There's so much I need to tell you. So many things you need to know. But you're not ready yet. It's too soon."

I didn't question him. The Doctor's over a thousand years old, I think he probably knows better than I do what's best. "Can you answer one question? How is that it's suddenly Christmas? Because, last I remember, it was summer."

"Have you ever read the _Chronicles of Narnia_?"

Mom had made me read them years ago, but they weren't really my thing. "Are those real too?"

The helmet made a beeping sound. The Doctor pulled it off. "I don't know. But time runs differently in Narnia than in your world in those stories, right?"

"Yes."

He held up the sonic screwdriver to my head. The thing buzzed. "Well, it's not really like that. But, if it helps. The two worlds are reflections of each other, but imperfect reflections, with small changes."

"_Small changes_?"

"In the grand scheme of things, yes, actually. The time streams may catch up with each other in time, or they may not – I really don't know. Now, it's time to go."

I stood up. It felt as if I'd never gotten hit. "Why do you do this? Why do you go out of your way to help me?"

"Because you didn't ask for this. You didn't ask for any of it, and yet you take whatever you get. You accept it and you do your best to work everything out."

"Thank you."


	19. Chapter 19

Still Ivy.

I left the TARDIS and walked out of Harley's garage.

"Hello, Tony. Hello, Dr. Lewis."

Both turned to stare.

"What…" said Tony.

"How did you…" began Dr. Lewis.

"A friend did me a favor. A huge favor."

My hair was still sticky from the blood, but it was dried out and could be cleaned with a shower. Which I _desperately_ needed.

"What about your arm?" asked Dr. Lewis.

"He fixed that, too."

Both looked suspicious.

"What friend is this?" asked Tony.

"He's a doctor."

"Let me look," said Dr. Lewis.

I let her inspect the injuries to her heart's content, careful not to let her touch my skin if it wasn't absolutely necessary. One touch could transfer her to a universe where Tony Stark _wasn't_ real.

"Who was this person, exactly? What did they do? How did they get in without being noticed?" Tony demanded.

"The person who did it for me last time."

"Who is it?" repeated Tony.

Dr. Lewis just stared at me in shock. "That shouldn't be possible."

I couldn't tell Tony in front of her. It would blow my secret. "I'll tell you on the way to where ever we go next."

"Which is?"

It couldn't hurt to tell him, could it? But not in front of Dr. Lewis.

Tony seemed to realize what I was thinking. "Thank you, Doctor Lewis," he said, "but we have to go. Come on, Ivy."

"I'm sorry," I said. "But it's all a secret that I can't tell you. I'm really sorry. Thank you for all your help."

I felt bad just leaving her like that, after she'd helped us so much. But what else could we really do?

We walked to Tony's car – where did he manage to get that, anyhow, when he arrived with his suit? Never mind, he's Tony Stark, that's enough reason.

Harley came up beside us.

Tony gave him instructions. "We got to go."

"What, you're going without me?"

"Yeah. Move so I don't run you over." Tony started to pull away, then hesitated. "Sorry, kid. You did good."

"I helped you. We're connected!" He waited for a reaction, but got none. "So you're going to leave me here? Just like my dad?"

"Yeah. Wait, you're guilt tripping me, aren't you?"

"I'm cold," said Harley in a cute voice, pulling his clothes tighter around himself.

"I can tell," said Tony, doing a fair impersonation of him. "You know how I can tell? 'Cause we're connected!"

And with that, he pulled away from the curb.


	20. Chapter 20

Ivy again.

"So…" said Mr. Stark. "What's up with the guy friend?"

We were on the way to the Mandarin's in Miami, after I'd told him where to go.

Oh, great. I am never going to escape that question. Everyone seems to assume that because boys seem to find me pretty, I must be in a relationship with _someone_. Oh please. Even if I was looking – which I am _not_ – any guy who I got into a relationship with would have to know about my abilities. It wouldn't be fair not to tell him. And most guys would run in the other direction if they found out, no matter how pretty I am or how much they like me. Not that I blame them.

"He attends karate with me," I replied. "I don't know him that well, actually. I mainly know him because he's friends with Miranda, has been since I first knew them."

"Miranda Pond?"

"Been friends since she was six. Rarely see one without the other, in school or out."

"And you're not jealous?"

"Why would I be jealous? I hardly know him."

"But I bet you'd like to get to know him better."

"I suppose I will after this. Seeing as I put his life in danger, I probably should at least try."

There was silence for a while.

"So… how are things going back at Harley's?"

"Tony…"

"What can it hurt?"

He needed to do it himself. He needed to hear from Harley. "Tony… don't lean on me. You can do this. I can't give you shortcuts."

He sighed. "I'm going to hear bad news, aren't I? Is the suit not charging?"

"You know I can't tell you that."

He sighed and handed me his phone. "Dial the number, please."

Jack answered. "Hello?"

"Hi. Are you helping Harley?"

"Yeah."

Jack is very much into technology and science and all that. He designs all sorts of cool little gadgets and stuff. I could just imagine how excited he was to get to work on an Iron Man suit.

I pulled the phone away from my ear so Tony could talk.

"Staying awake?" he asked.

"Yes."

"How many bowls of candy have you had?" asked Tony.

"Three."

"Can you still see straight?"

"Sort of."

"We're good then. Is my suit charging?"

"No."

The car jerked over to the side of the road, screeching to a halt.


	21. Chapter 21

Ivy here.

"Actually, Sir, it is charging," said JARVIS. "My vocal processor is already on line, although when I get to the end of each sentence I say the wrong cranberry."

Tony was hyperventilating. He got out of the car.

I jumped out the other side and ran around to him.

How does a person deal with someone who's having a panic attack? "Tony? Breathe slowly. Everything's okay. It's charging. Everything's fine." I didn't have any idea what else to do or say.

"Are you okay, Mr. Stark?" asked Harley. "I didn't even mention New York!"

"You just said it trying to say you didn't!"

"You're a mechanic, right?" said Harley.

"Yeah."

"Then why don't you just build something?"

Tony stopped hyperventilating. "Yeah. Yeah, I'll do that. Ivy, get in."

Jack here.

"You may want to check a little harder next time, Harley," I said. Mr. Stark was dealing with enough problems.

"Well, I thought it wasn't!" defended Harley.

"Maybe you might want to be sure next time?" I sighed. "You get some sleep. You've been up on candy all night. I'll take over."

Harley nodded and got up, staggering slightly toward the door. I sat down at the computer and picked a piece of chocolate out of the bowl.

"JARVIS?" I asked.

"Yes?"

"Is everything Ivy told me true? Was she at the Battle of New York?"

"Yes, it's ribbon."

I shook my head. "This is crazy."

"Miss Williams seemed to think so as well, as did her friend Miss Pond."

"Miss Pond… you mean… no. _Miranda_ Pond?"

"Yes. Miss Pond was present during the Battle of New York."

Miranda Pond… really? The Miranda I'd met in first grade and lived next door to? The Miranda who watched _Dr. Who_ with me and wore TARDIS earrings? _That_ Miranda?

Ivy had left out that detail about what had happened.

I knew something had happened to Ivy and Miranda last summer. They had returned from choir camp several days late, both acting very strangely. Ivy hadn't shown up at karate for a month after that, and Miranda had always been at the library, avoiding people, like she always does when she's upset over something. Ariel told me later that someone had attacked them both in the woods and Miranda had been missing for several days after that. I'd been told Ivy left because they were worried the guy might come back.

That was all anyone seemed to know. I thought something sounded odd – Ivy can take care of herself. It seemed a little out of character that she would have just run away from someone attacking her, seeing as it wouldn't be the first time she ever had to defend herself. It would take a _lot _to make her just run away, particularly if someone else was there. Still, I didn't want to ask Ivy or Miranda after I heard what happened, and no one seemed to know anything else, so I went with Ariel's account, even if I did make guesses at what else might have happened.

But I never would in a million years have guessed anything like this.


	22. Chapter 22

Ivy here.

"So, are we going to storm the Mandarin's hideout?" I asked. He sat in the back of the car, I sat in the grass next to the spot where he had parked. The weather was surprisingly for a day or two before Christmas. Well, I suppose that's Florida for you.

Tony didn't even look up from the dart gun he was assembling. "_No_._ I'm_ going to storm the Mandarin's hideout, _you're_ going to wait for someone from S.H.I.E.L.D. to come and get you, after I contact them again."

I sighed. "As much as I wish that would work, I'll probably get pulled into this anyhow. Something to do with me being a magnet for this stuff, the Doctor told me about it. It somehow all gets drawn toward me." I'd explained about my alien friend to him. "Even if I don't go with you, things will still happen. And besides, you might want help." As much as I'd like to stay away, I doubted it would work. "I wasn't able to stay from the Battle of New York, remember? I'd rather not get pulled into this by getting hit in the head again.

Bad thing to mention.

He stiffened and stood up.

"Tony. Breathe slowly." Should I try to make him think about something else? Sounded like a plan. Should I ask him about Dr. Banner? On one hand, it might make him calm down, think more clearly. On the other hand, he was an Avenger and that might make things worse.

"Tell me about Pepper."

It came out of my mouth before I knew what I was saying.

"What?" he demanded.

"Pepper. Where did you meet her?"

"She… she was working for my company. She found a mistake in some figures and brought them to me, after threatening the guards with pepper spray so they'd let her by. I made her my personal assistant and nicknamed her Pepper. But you already knew that, didn't you? You probably know everything about us there is to know."

"No, actually, I don't. I don't know everything. I only know what happened in the last few years."

"That's where most of it happened." He seemed a bit calmer now, breathing more slowly. "And I'm still not going to let you do this with me."

Since I knew we were going to get caught, maybe it would be better. Or maybe Savin would come back to find me, it would be just my luck.

"Tony… you know I know what's going to happen. If I'm there, I have better control of the situation. If I'm not, all sorts of things could happen. Bad things. Besides, who knows? Little extra help can't hurt."

Yes, I am aware of what would almost certainly happen to me – that I would get caught again. But at least if I got caught, I might not have to rely on the Doctor to fix my head up again.

Yes, I know. I was being stupid for doing this. Anyone who has got a better idea, I'd love to hear it.

He seemed to consider for a moment or two. "Okay. Just… be careful."

If only things could be that easy.


	23. Chapter 23

Ivy here again.

I'm a little surprised that there were no guards guarding around the perimeter. Climbing over a wall is a little too easy of an entrance. Not that I'm complaining.

I dropped to the ground next to Tony.

We made our way toward the house.

"What happens here?" asked Tony.

"A lot," I replied.

"Hey!" said a voice behind us.

I spun around, grabbing the first guard's arm, twisting it, bringing him to the ground, his head banging onto the concrete steps. Tony got the second with a knockout dart. I went after the third, but he was quicker than I was. His fist connected with my face. My nose made a crunching sound and my head twisted with the strike. I drove a fist into his liver, then stuck him in the back of the neck, hitting a nerve and knocking him out.

I turned back to Tony to see him eyeing me a little warily.

"Your nose okay?"

"Yeah."

We kept going, into the house.

As we crossed the threshold, a horrible thought occurred to me, and I'm not sure why I didn't think of it earlier.

Killian had known about me.

What about Miranda? Had he known about her?

"Tony? I have something to take care of. I'll… I'll know where to find you. I'll be a second, don't worry."

"WHAT?!" he hissed, but I was already gone, heading up a set of stairs.

I pulled out my cell phone – my parents gave me one after the choir retreat incident in case of emergency – and dialed a number.

"Hey," said Jack.

Why didn't I call Miranda, you ask? No need to worry her any more than she probably already was.

"Jack? I need you to do something. I need you to call find another phone and call Miranda. Now."

"Is something wrong?"

"I don't know."

A slight sound behind me startled me. I turned to see Aldrich Killian himself standing behind me.

"Hello, Ivy Williams."

"Hello, Aldrich Killian. I'd say it's good to meet you, but it isn't."

"Ivy?" asked Jack. "Is that –"

I dropped the phone and drove my heel into it, crushing it before Killian could stop me. My parents would be mad, but that was the least of my worries.

"You like covering your tracks, don't you," he said.

"Doesn't hurt."

"You know everything that's going to happen."

"Yup. And I'm not telling you anything." Probably not the smartest thing I ever said, but like Jack and I have said, I have trouble keeping my mouth shut.

"We'll see."

"What? Is the Mandarin going to kill me? Oh, are you going to inject me with Extremis? I've met worse than you. I know what's going to happen, do you? Oh, I'll bet you'd love to know."

He punched me in the face, knocking me out.

Yeah, I need to work on keeping my mouth shut.


	24. Chapter 24

Hey, this is Jack.

I sat staring at Tony's suit. That had been Aldrich Killian. Ivy's tough, but no match for someone who has taken Extremis.

Should I call the police? Ivy had told me, before she left – don't try to change anything. Not even if it means that she dies. Don't try to change anything.

She'd been in the Mandarin's house. She probably would have entered of her own accord. She'd had things under control… didn't she?

I looked at the phone in my hand.

"Is something wrong?" asked Harley. "Is Mr. Stark okay?"

I put the phone down. The hardest thing I'd ever done. "I don't know."

Ivy again.

I would just like to commend Jack for not calling the police. So, Jack, you're commended. And you're a great friend to have around.

I woke up lying on the floor, cheek pressing into something hard.

I looked up to see the Mandarin standing above me.

"You have got to be kidding me," my voice mumbled. I tried to sit up, but my body refused to respond.

"This is Ivy Williams," droned a male voice above me.

He kept talking, droning on. I couldn't understand most of what he said, and all I could see was him and the ceiling.

Then he stopped.

"I'm going to shoot her in the head," said the Mandarin. He addressed the president, saying that if the president called him, he wouldn't shoot me.

What must my parents and friends be thinking right now? This was going to fun to explain.

A moment later, the phone rang.

A gun fired above me.

I screamed in surprise.

There was a moment of silence.

"Cut!" said a voice.

"They're using you, you know, Mr. Slattery," I managed to push out.

He blinked in surprise and looked down at me. "You know who I am?" He sounded beyond thrilled.

"Yeah. Trevor Slattery. You're going to get a very nasty surprise very soon," I added.

He eyed me suspiciously. "What kind of nasty surprise?"

"Can't tell you. Just thought I'd warn you."

"Never mind, Trevor," said Eric Savin's voice above me. "She's, kind of… insane."

I didn't bother to disagree, since I'm still not sure if he was wrong or not.

Something bit into the side of my neck, and everything went black.


	25. Chapter 25

Ivy here again.

I woke up with a splitting headache and the urge to punch something.

A foot prodded me. "So, you're finally up. What kind of nasty surprise is Trevor going to get?"

I opened one eye and glared at Aldrich Killian. "You know, prodding someone with your foot is not generally an accepted way to wake them up."

"Do I look like I care?" He grabbed my arm, pulling me to my feet.

My legs nearly gave out. "No, just thought I'd remind you is all."

"Come on. I don't want you to miss this."

I didn't miss it, I already knew what was going to happen, but didn't really want to talk at the moment. He dragged me out and onto a walkway. I recognized the place for the climax of _Iron Man 3_. Well, at least it was almost over, then. Hopefully.

I hated having to hold onto to something to stay upright. The fact that the something was Aldrich Killian made it much, much worse.

"You know, this probably isn't a very good idea," I said. "Your plan is going to fail, and I'm going to watch – and smile." I didn't see the harm in telling him that - if he knew how my abilities worked, it wouldn't be too hard to guess why I was on Tony's side and not his.

"No, you won't. I've got everything in place."

And he honestly didn't think Tony would show up? Killian kidnapped the president of the United States – that will people looking for you.

"True enough," I said. "But did you ever stop to think about who you might tick off?"

"Sure, but who knows that _I_ did it?"

"People like S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers, who, by the way, will probably not be too thrilled that you had me shot in the head, even if it was with a prop gun." I couldn't imagine S.H.I.E.L.D. and the rest of the Avengers didn't know what had happened to me. Someone being shot on live television isn't something that goes unnoticed. "But my abilities aren't that useful, really, despite what you might think. Think about it, what good are they really except for painting a target on your back?"

"It doesn't matter what they're good for. Come along, Ivy. You and I are going to talk."

I followed, not having much say in the matter.

He pulled me into a room full of equipment.

"What's going to happen?"


	26. Chapter 26

Ivy here still.

"I don't do spoilers. Tony or anyone else will tell you that," I said.

He let go of my arm and I dropped. My head hit a table on the way down.

"I didn't ask for your opinion."

I lay still a moment. For those of you who have never fallen and hit your head on something, it hurts. A _lot_. "I didn't ask what you wanted. I decided on this long ago, and I'll stick with it."

He laughed. "We'll see about that."

You know, I think this interdimensional energy stuff interferes my reasoning, because I've had even more trouble keeping my mouth shut since this stuff started happening. Then again, it could be just because I've been meeting people who brought that side out in me. I'll have to talk to the Doctor.

He grabbed my arm and dragged me deeper into the room, letting me fall onto the ground next a table.

He stood at a table for a moment, then leaned down, holding a syringe. "This will hurt. A lot. We'll see how interest you are in hiding things afterward"

He pressed the needle into my arm. The blue contents entered my arm.

My vision flashed blue and a familiar tingling began to spread outward from the needle.

"This is what you were afraid of, wasn't it? All that work, learning to fight. Loki's control wasn't much fun, was it? This is a bit different, doesn't last forever, but the principle is the same. It makes your mind open to suggestion."

My veins glowed blue. My vision was tinted blue and threatening to turn black.. My veins burned as if they were on fire, my head hurt as if someone had taken a sledge hammer to it.

In a sudden burst of strength, I punched him. Hard. In the knee, due to being unable to aim higher.

He actually stumbled back several steps.

I scrambled to my feet and started throwing more punches.

Killian tackled me and pinned me to the ground. "It's all right. Perfectly normal. You work for me. You have for a while, you do whatever I tell you to."

And my mind actually bought it for a horrifying moment. It was like Loki's control all over again. Icy cold and absolutely terrible.

Then I broke out of it and lashed out, striking at him.

He grabbed my wrists. "Don't fight it. That's what hurts," said Killian.

I don't think it's too hard to guess which I'd prefer – pain, or mind control by someone who wants to take over the world.

And then I passed out, something I have become far too familiar with of late.


	27. Chapter 27

Ivy here, yet again.

I woke up with my cheek pressing into the cold, hard floor, and that horrible blue color everywhere.

"Are you okay?" asked a voice nearby.

"I'll live," I replied, rolling over to look at Pepper.

She was here because of me – because I hadn't told any one anything.

No. She was here because of Aldrich Killian.

"I'd say I've had worse, but I don't think I have," I said. "That _hurt_."

Inwardly, every part of me was screaming. He had almost gotten control of my mind. He'd… I wasn't going to think about it.

The blue color was slowing fading away.

I don't cry. I cannot remember ever crying once in my entire life. And I didn't then, either. My body hurt too much to do really do anything aside from lie there.

"What's going on?" asked Pepper.

"A lot. First off, the Mandarin is actually an actor named Trevor Slattery."

"_What_?"

"Yeah. And Aldrich Killian is mad at Tony because Tony didn't meet on the roof of a hotel in Switzerland about thirteen years ago on New Years Eve, so now he wants revenge. Right now, he's stolen the Iron Patriot suit and he's put the President in it and now they're planning to kill him."

"This is crazy."

That statement happens to be a perfect description of the way my life seems to work. "Yeah. That kind of sums it up. So's Aldrich Killian."

You know, just minutes before all this started – before I first met Hawkeye in the woods and got pulled into this world, I was debating with Miranda whether the Avengers or the X-men would win a fight. Now… I couldn't think of the last time I cared about anything like that. It seemed stupid now. A battle between the X-men and the Avengers would probably not work out very well for anyone, and that was all I cared about.

Funny how things change in a year, isn't it? What had I done before all this stuff started? I'd dropped choir – more time to train and less chance of transferring anyone to a different universe. I used to read – what had happened to that? The movie night with my friends was the first time in ages I'd seen any of my friends, aside from school and my karate, in months.

I'd told myself I was trying to get ready. I'd lied to myself, in a way. It had taken over, become an obsession. An unhealthy obsession. Nothing wrong with being prepared, but it could reach the point where it was unhealthy – like Tony's obsession with his suits. Because I hadn't been so much trying to get ready as I had been trying to forget and pretend that it might not happen again.

If I got out of this, I made a plan – make myself ease up a little on training. Definitely. Maybe try to see my friends more, rebuild some friendships. When was the last time I read a book or watched a movie without practically being forced to? Wait, couldn't do that anymore. That could trigger me switching universes.

But really, how could I ever avoid the triggers? Realistically... the chances of my ever avoiding them all was pretty much zero. And if I wore gloves, like Rogue does in the X-men_..._

Maybe I _would_ enjoy a movie or two that summer after all.

If I lived that long, anyhow.


	28. Chapter 28

Ivy here again. Really, I do so much narration in these things I shouldn't bother announcing myself. Whatever.

Okay, so anyhow, I don't know how long I was in that room. I do know that as I lay there, in too much pain to move, I got even more ticked off with Aldrich Killian. And considering how mad I already was, that's saying something.

Killian came in after a while.

"You survived. I'm surprised after you passed out. The last three test subjects didn't. But it you don't tell me anything, then I don't really need you anymore."

Pleasant thought.

"Are you ready to take another dose?"

Everything in me screamed to do anything I could to avoid taking another dose. But I can't just tell people the future. That's not how things work. "You know I won't tell you what you want to do."

He held the needle to my arm. "I'll count to three. One."

I bit down on my lip to keep myself from pleading with him or screaming.

"Two."

I tasted blood on my lip.

"Don't," said Pepper. "Don't you realize what you're doing?"

"Of course I do. If she tells me what I want to know, I'll be happy to stop. Will you, Ivy?"

"I just told you I won't."

The needle bit into my arm.

And then it started again.

But it wasn't Killian standing over me, grinning. It was Loki.

"Are we rethinking our decision now?"

It was a hallucination or something, I knew that.

But that brought the whole experience to an entirely new level.

I don't think I've ever screamed like that before. My veins burned, every breath hurt.

And Loki was standing above me, grinning.

Worst. Christmas. _Ever_.

"Oh, you will tell me," continued Loki-Killian. "It's almost Christmas morning, Ivy, and I have plans to finish. But I want your opinion on them first."

I don't know what I said, but he kicked me for it. A rib snapped.

And then everything seemed to go flying around me. Something hit the side of my head and everything went black.


	29. Chapter 29

Ivy here, again.

I woke up with a metal bar across my stomach, pinning me to the ground. Great.

It shifted. I groaned and looked up.

"Don't!" said Pepper's voice. "You'll make this all come down on us! Tony, get Ivy – Killian gave her something, I don't think she can move."

"Yes, I can, but only a bit."

Tony moved across to help me. He flipped up the visor of his Iron Man suit. He reached toward me, grabbing my arm and pulling me free. He set me on my feet.

"What'd he do?"

"Something blue in a needle."

Everything started going black again again. I could _not _pass out.

Tony grabbed my arm, then morphed into Loki. I ripped my arm away and started screaming again. Somehow, a little part of me knew it wasn't real. Most of me thought it was real, though, and that seemed to be the part that made all the decisions.

I started to run, out of the lab and into the cold night air, ignoring the Extremis soldiers, ignoring Tony, everything – just trying to get away. But you can't really escape your own mind. Kind of a scary thought, actually.

I ran, dodging around, trying to avoid getting spotted. My heart slammed into my ribs again and again. Some small part of my reason that was still functioning properly reminded me to stick to the shadows, stay out of the way of the fighting.

Explosions went on all around me. Tony's Iron Legion suits had arrived and were taking out the Extremis soldiers. But that barely mattered. My veins burned like acid. Memories of New York flooded my brain. I screamed and kept screaming and running. Everything was so much like New York. My arm burned in pain from the old injury – it had healed long ago, but my mind seemed to have forgotten that. Around me, everything started morphing back into New York – it was such a vivid memory that I was sure I was there, under Loki's control.

A hand closed around my arm. I spun around, forgetting all about any training I'd had and scratching at my attacker. They hissed in pain, but held on. "Ivy, it's okay. It's me. It's me. Everything's okay."

Even in my panic and in the middle of the flashbacks, I couldn't mistake the voice.

"Miranda?"

"New York's over, Ivy. It's over. Loki's not here, and he won't be coming back."

That was, somehow, enough. The pain remained, but the strong reminder – the reminder of the other side of my life, that I wasn't alone in dealing with what I had to deal with – it banished the flashbacks and pulled me into reality.


	30. Chapter 30

Hey, it's Ivy here. Again.

Miranda wrapped both arms around me in a hug. I went limp and just stood there, staring at her.

"It's over," she said. "It's over."

"How'd you get here?" My voice was barely a croak.

"Jack called me. It's not important how I got here."

"It… it was like Loki's control," I said. "He dosed me with something, I don't know what it was…"

"It's over. Loki won't get to you again." She hesitated. "Are you going to be okay?"

She didn't respond, instead shifting her gaze to over my shoulder.

Something came crashing down behind us.

"_Miranda_?" said Tony. "What are you doing here?"

She kept one arm around me and turned to look at him. "Ivy doesn't just vanish off the face of the planet with nobody noticing, Mr. Stark. I know the same things she does. Went straight to where I knew she'd end up."

"So you went straight to where you knew the danger was going to be?"

"No. I came straight to where I knew Ivy would be."

"You both need to get out of here."

My knees buckled. Miranda grabbed me to so I wouldn't fall.

"I don't think Ivy's going anywhere," she said.

"I don't think so either," said a voice.

I turned to look at Aldrich Killian.

"You've got a very loyal friend," remarked Killian. "I wish my workers were that loyal. Sadly, Maya betrayed me. She's... no longer with us."

"I know. Is your solution to dealing with everyone you don't like?" I asked.

Killian shrugged. "Who's your friend?"

"Someone who I don't treat the way you treat your friends. Seriously, I thought you liked Pepper. Why did you dose her with Extremis? You know it could have killed her."

"I wanted her perfect."

"Perfection is pretty much impossible."

"So is a man in a flying armored suit and a girl who can switch between universes."

I shrugged. "Fair point. I still treat my friends better."

He decided not to argue that point and lunged at us.


	31. Chapter 31

Miranda here.

I dragged Ivy out of the way as he went at Mr. Stark. Clearly, we placed lower on his threat list, which I couldn't complain about.

Ivy pulled and struggled as I dragged her away from the fighting. "I need to –"

"You need to take a break for once," I said. "Come on, let's go."

A suit dropped down in front of us.

"Can I offer you two a lift?" asked JARVIS's voice. "Good to see you both again."

It wrapped one arm around me and one around Ivy, then took off.

It set down on a platform far above everything, letting go and flying away to join the others.

Ivy leaned over and threw up.

"Are you okay?" I asked when she was finished. I grabbed her arm to steady her - she looked like she was going to collapse any second.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." She pulled her arm away. "After the pain stops, I'll be fine."

"Are you still hallucinating?"

She shook her head. "I think it's over - thank God. I... I was back in New York. And Loki was in my head. And I kept seeing him."

"Look," I said. "It's over. It's not New York, and Loki is on Asgard."

Ivy nodded and walked to the edge to watch the conclusion.

All around us, explosions went off. I ducked as something sailed over the platform and went to join Ivy.

In case you're wondering how I got there… I've never told Ivy – or anyone, really, except Jack. I'm actually inserting this into my dialogue long after we've finished, just before I send it off. Why? Because I don't want her to feel guilty about what happened, which she would. She's got enough on her hands to deal with.

Aldrich Killian sent an Extremis soldier to get me – in hopes that having me there might be enough to convince Ivy to tell him what he wanted to know. He attacked me on the way back from the library. Would have gotten me, too, if Mr. Stark hadn't sent one of his suits to keep an eye on me. The suit took out the Extremis soldier and brought me to Mr. Stark, as per its instructions – it was too damaged after the fight for JARVIS to realize where it was going.

So this is where I ended up.

But I'll never tell her that.

**Who's seen Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.?**


	32. Chapter 32

Ivy here.

There was a sudden explosion and one of the structures collapsed.

Down below us was Tony.

And then Killian emerged from underneath the rubble.

I'd had just about enough of this guy. I stood up and pulled a knife out of my jacket. I'm a little surprised Killian didn't have me searched and have all my weapons removed - that's not the only weapon I have - but I guess even if he did he thought I wouldn't be in any condition to use my knives even if I had them. Bad choice, my friend.

Well, he's _not_ my friend, but you know what I mean.

"No more false faces," he said, as his body started to repair itself. "You wanted the Mandarin? You got him. I AM THE MANDARIN, AND I –"

He was interrupted by the handle of my knife slamming into his face.

"Wow, you have an amazing throwing arm," said Miranda.

"I've been training since New York," I said with a shrug. Honestly, that throw was more luck than anything - my aim isn't exactly amazing. Okay, to be honest, it's only above average because Agent Barton visits sometimes and helps me.

I would have gone down to do more, but I'd just be in the way. Besides, I wasn't sure how I _could_ get down.

A suit flew overhead and fired at a nearby Pepper, attacking an Extremis heat signature, as Tony had ordered.

She jumped up, attacking the suit.

It was somehow calming to watch. To know what was going to happen, to not be worried about anything.

Pepper fired the repulsor at Killian, sending him flying backwards. There was a sudden explosion.

And then it was over.

I collapsed onto my knees from relief.

For a moment, there was utter silence.

"Miranda… I have some apologies to make, I think. To you. To everyone."

Miranda didn't answer for a moment. She seemed to be considering an answer for a moment. "I'll call Ariel and Carmen and Sharon, see if I can talk them into doing something with us. I bet I can convince them. Everyone knows something's wrong. And they understand that."

There was a moment of silence.

"How did you know that it was New York I seeing? When you first found me."

"I didn't. It seemed like a pretty good guess, though. I knew you had flashbacks and nightmares, and from the way you were acting, I thought you were in the middle of a flashback."

She'd been close enough. "I… whatever Killian gave me. It was made for mind control. I'm not sure how it works. But it nearly did. I… I almost did what he…" I couldn't say it.

Miranda didn't ask any more questions, waiting for me.

I took a deep breath. "I started hallucinating about Loki. I told you about that. But… you… just you being there… it was enough to make me snap out of it. Thanks. I couldn't ask for a better friend."

The suits began to explode above us. But, somehow, at that moment, it wasn't so important that Tony was destroying all his suits. I'd known for a while that he was going to do it, so it wasn't much of a surprise.

"I don't intend for you to ever need to," said Miranda. "As long as you'll put up with me hanging around, that is."

I have great friends, don't I?


	33. Chapter 33

Jack here.

Miranda and Ivy turned up at where I was staying a few days later, after Christmas.

Ivy stumbled through the door looking as if she hadn't slept in a month and had just been through a war.

Well, not a war. Just one battle.

"It's over," she breathed. "It's over."

"Over?"

"Tony's blown up all his suits. He's getting his arc reactor taken out soon. It's over, for now. Until next time."

What did she mean, next time? Oh, right, _Thor 2_. Loki was real? Oh, great. I hadn't really thought about that.

"We have to go, Jack. We're going home."

"So what now? Do I just… go back to everything the way it was?"

"You try. You try and _pray_ I don't end up pulling you into anything else. I tend to end up in the front lines, as does whoever comes with me."

"Not always a bad thing if someone's with you," said Miranda.

Ivy looked as if she wanted to argue, but didn't. "Jack… you can't tell anyone anything."

"I kind of thought so."

"Good. If you do, S.H.I.E.L.D. will probably come after you."

"How do I go to just a normal life? How'd you do it?" I asked.

"I didn't," she replied. "Excuse me. Goodbye, Jack." She left, heading out toward a car waiting at the curb.

Miranda stepped in. "Here's what I suggest. Remain prepared in case you should end up in something like this again, which is definitely a possibility. But you should also go about your life and try not to cause trouble. As for the rest, that's up to you. It's not easy. Ivy… she never can go back. Oh, believe me, she wants to. That's kind of why your question about it made her upset. She's dealing with some problems right now. After Loki… sorry, that's her business, not mine."

Miranda glanced over her shoulder at Ivy, who had climbed into the car.

"She needs us, the normal part of her life, to keep her sane. And whatever you do, don't mention Loki or New York around her if you can help it. Loki… I'm worried about what's going to happen in _Thor 2_, when she sees him. Bad things happened when they first met. Maybe she'll tell you someday, but I shouldn't."

After seeing _The Avengers_, Ivy had stated on several occasions how little she liked him. And after actually _meeting_ him…

"Miranda… when Ivy called… I thought you might be –"

"I'm fine. Sorry I didn't answer the phone. I was on my way to finding Ivy."

There was a moment of silence.

"I'll see you once you get home after New Years," said Miranda. She headed to the door. "Goodbye."

And… that was that.


	34. Chapter 34

Ivy here.

I brushed snow off the bench and sat down.

Cars drove past through puddles of the melted white stuff, splashing the sidewalk. Ryan, my brother, was performing in a concert, and I had taken off for a while. No one had noticed me leave – even though I'd just been missing and presumably killed, no one was keeping an eye on me. S.H.I.E.L.D. had covered that up and said it wasn't me, it was someone else, but you'd think… whatever. In the world where I actually come from, where it was September now, the stalker thing was still holding up fine and they had no reason to doubt me about it because they hadn't seen me get shot on live television. The happenings between the various dimensions vary sometimes. It's crazy trying to keep them all straight.

Someone sat down next to me. "Okay, act normal," said a female voice.

I turned to see Chloe Bennet, or her exact double, or Skye, or whoever, sitting next to me.

"Hi," I said, unsure of what else to say or do.

"You're Ivy Williams, right? The girl who was shot on TV by the Mandarin?"

"Yes."

I considered denying it, then decided that if she was actually going to approach me about it, she probably had enough evidence that she wouldn't believe whatever I said. "Look, that's supposed to be a secret. It was covered up so I could have a normal life, without people going after me."

"Is Ivy your real name?"

"Yes. Is Skye your real name?"

"How'd you survive?"

I noticed the lack of an answer but didn't comment. I guess I'll just have to find out when everyone else does. That's a strangely comforting thought. "I don't have some kind of healing ability or immortality or anything if that's what you're thinking. He used a prop gun to shoot me. Killed the cameras after that so I couldn't do anything to show I wasn't dead."

"Why would he do that?"

I didn't know how much she knew – even if she'd managed to hack into S.H.I.E.L.D., I don't know how much she would have found. But she probably wouldn't let it rest if I didn't give her _something_. "I have a… special ability."

Her eyes lit up. This was what she'd been digging for. "What is it?"

"It's best if you don't know. Let's just say I can find out things other people can't, and he wanted to make me tell him." The spot where he'd put the needle into my arm stung worse than usual – it still hadn't stopped hurting.

"I can help you. I'm good with computers, like _really good_. If you want, I can erase your existence, help you vanish – stuff like that won't happen to you anymore. Or I could create you a whole new identity, you could go public, like the Avengers did."

I shook my head. "The nature of my… ability makes it almost impossible that it couldn't happen again. Thank you for your offer, Skye. I really appreciate it. But I don't think it could help. Besides, my parents would probably notice if I suddenly disappeared from existence. I… haven't told them yet. About everything." If I thought it would help, I might have taken her up on it. But I'm not that desperate. Yet. "Besides, I have a feeling we'll meet again soon, and then I'll be able to tell you."

"Can you see the future or something?"

"Close, but not quite." I stood up. "I should get back. They'll be wondering where I went."

"You can't just say that and leave!" protested Skye, standing up and walking after me.

"I'm sorry. But like I said, we'll meet again soon, Skye. When we do, I'll be able to tell you."

And with that I walked away.


	35. Chapter 35

**Right, sorry I took so long with this. Yes, in answer to your question, callieandjack, there is a possibility of an **_**Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.**_** appearance before **_**Thor 2**_**. We'll see… **

**Thank you to all of you for following and reviewing.**

**And we at last have the final chapter!**

Ivy here.

"It's hot in here," muttered Sharon, shoving open the door.

We stepped into the bright, warm sunlight.

"So, crazy, with that Mandarin guy on TV," said Sharon. "Seriously, who would have thought you have an identical twin or something out there with your name? Too weird."

As it turned out, they'd managed to partially block the broadcast, so no one had gotten too good a look at me, and they'd made sure that the footage vanished completely from everywhere. No one could prove anything - and besides, I was alive, wasn't I? They'd put out the story that it was just someone who looked like me. I owed S.H.I.E.L.D. for that one, even if it was a bit of a stretch, and for clearing everything with my parents. Mom and Dad don't know about anything yet, and I'm trying to keep it that way.

I shrugged. "Yeah, well, crazy things happen."

"Oh, I forgot my bag. Just a minute, I'll be right back."

She disappeared back in the building.

"You rejoined your choir."

I spun around to see Tony. "Yeah. You stopped being Iron Man and blew up all your suits, then had the shrapnel taken out of your chest along with the arc reactor."

"I'll always be Iron Man, with or without the suits."

Yeah, well, people like Iron Man movies, and I'm pretty sure he's going to be in _Avengers 2_, so we'll how long the whole "I'm Iron Man without the suits" thing lasts.

"Have things been getting better?"

"A little," I replied. "I still have nightmares. But now Miranda's been spending a lot of nights staying at our house. It makes it easier."

"Who's your friend? The one who went inside?"

"Sharon. She's new, but she's really good at singing." She was also a Loki fangirl – which, once your mind had been controlled by him, can be rather irritating, because she likes to talk about him and how he's "misunderstood". Still, she was nice to talk to if you kept her off the subject – she was also a _Dr. Who_ fan, and also made jewelry. It was never too hard to get her talking about it. I certainly wouldn't attend _Thor 2_ with her, but she's one of the nicest people I've ever met.

I'd forgotten how much I missed people, spending all that time alone.

"Here. I brought you something," said Tony.

He handed me a small box, the sort you keep jewelry in. I opened it.

Earrings. Earring with familiar pieces of metal. Some of the shrapnel from his chest.

"They may not be as pretty as the ones your friend… what's her name, Ariel? gave you, but I am indirectly responsible for their loss, so…"

I decided not to ask how he knew about that. "Thank you. I don't know when I see you next. No movies planned until _Avengers 2_. Say hi to Dr. Banner for me."

He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again. "Okay. I'll be seeing you."

"Goodbye," I said. He walked away.

Sharon burst out a second later. "Sorry I took so long!"

We walked away together, talking.

Don't know when I'll do another one of these. Don't know if I will do another recording. I suppose the next things up would probably be _Thor 2_. I'd take _Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D._ over _Thor 2_ anytime – less likely for things to go horribly, horribly wrong. But if I'm back for _Thor 2_, I suppose it means I'll be seeing Loki again.

That should prove interesting.


End file.
